{"id":456411,"date":"2026-03-04T03:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T03:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/456411\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T03:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T03:42:14","slug":"we-do-not-have-a-doping-problem-tadej-pogacars-agent-opposes-stupid-plans-to-monitor-riders-power-data-insisting-cycling-now-has-credib","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/456411\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe do not have a doping problem\u201d: Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s agent opposes \u201cstupid\u201d plans to monitor riders\u2019 power data, insisting cycling \u201cnow has credibility\u201d – Cycling News | Bike Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s agent and others have expressed concern about the proposed use of riders\u2019 power and training data as an anti-doping measure, saying they believe the International Testing Agency (ITA) is overstepping the mark.<\/p>\n

Alex Carera has represented four-time Tour de France winner Poga\u010dar and several other professional cyclists for many years and believes the proposal \u2013 which is currently undergoing a voluntary trial involving four teams and a few dozen riders \u2013 is unnecessary and unwarranted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that a commission wants to analyse the data of Training Peaks and decide some elements. No. Why? Our sport has changed a lot. Now cycling has credibility,\u201d he told road.cc.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe 10 or 15 years ago, no, but now we have credibility because the mentality has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AlexAlex Carera and Tadej Poga\u010dar (Image Credit: Marca)<\/p>\n

Carera argues that teams, riders, and the UCI itself need to work hard every day to ensure that the sport continues along the right road. However, he doesn\u2019t see any upside to the provision of rider data to the ITA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t [need to] find other stupid things to create only problems, because cycling is different than 15 years ago,\u201d the Italian said. \u201cMaybe we needed to come back to have the credibility to show to the fans that we want more controls, 24 hours availability, and so on.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now the mentality has changed. We do not have this problem, the doping problem. Why do we need to create something [new]?\u201d<\/p>\n

> \u201cIt\u2019s just ridiculous\u201d: Geraint Thomas says Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s \u201ceffortless\u201d 7.2 W\/kg for 20 minutes power is \u201cinsane\u201d \u2013 and admits he could only manage world champion\u2019s numbers for seven minutes \u201cat my very best\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

However, the ITA has responded to this and other concerns communicated to it by road.cc, clarifying the parameters of the study and countering some of the claims.<\/p>\n

It has also suggested that the now-voluntary trial could, in time, translate into a compulsory measure that all UCI teams will be required to agree to.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m really worried when it becomes mandatory\u2019<\/p>\n

Carera\u2019s opposition to the ITA trial is echoed by Jens Raes, an agent with the Wasserman agency, and by former pro Adam Hansen.<\/p>\n

Raes raised questions about GDPR, saying that while the UCI and others already have a lot of personal data about riders, he wasn\u2019t sure if the study would comply with privacy rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they need to check with those regulations,\u201d he told road.cc. \u201cIf it\u2019s allowed, okay. But I don\u2019t see it working. I think it will be conflicting in terms of data protection rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AdamAdam Hansen (Image Credit: CPA)<\/p>\n

Hansen\u2019s own concerns were in other areas. The Australian is the president of the CPA, the professional riders\u2019 association, and he voiced his misgivings to both road.cc and to Domestique. The latter publication interviewed him recently for its podcast<\/a>, while Hansen spoke in depth to road.cc on the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CPA is not really happy about this at all,\u201d Hansen told this website. \u201cThere are some riders who don\u2019t mind it, they think it is okay. But I do think it is bringing things too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiders have so much responsibility at the moment. Their whole life is under WADA, they have to do their whereabouts, they have to be at a special location every day for one hour, they have to fill those details in, they have to make sure that they eat the correct diet, they have a training plan they have to follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd while this is voluntary at the moment, I\u2019m really worried when it becomes mandatory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some observers of the sport may remember the scandals of the past and wonder if at least some of the resistance to the study is due to concerns about what it might uncover.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of \u2018if you don\u2019t look you don\u2019t find\u2019 approach which ultimately caught out the UCI around the time of the Festina Affair of 1998, and again in relation to Lance Armstrong.<\/p>\n

> Cycling doping cases fall, but anti-doping group warns of \u201cgrey areas\u201d and \u201cincreased medicalisation\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

For his part, though, Hansen is clear about the need to remove doping from the sport. He tells road.cc about the need for good anti-doping testing, saying it is important that those breaking the rules are caught.<\/p>\n

However, he has specific concerns about what the ITA is proposing.<\/p>\n

Prior to listing Hansen\u2019s issues with the protocol, though, it\u2019s important to be clear about what exactly the ITA is doing.<\/p>\n

What does the study involve, and what is it hoping to achieve?<\/p>\n

\u2018We need to be open to take steps forward\u2019<\/p>\n

The project was, according to the ITA, first discussed in 2015 and then returned to in 2024 \u201cthanks to the increase of the cycling stakeholders\u2019 contributions to the ITA to strength the fight against doping\u201d. It was made public on 2 July 2025, as part of a press release dealing mostly with the anti-doping protocol for the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

The ITA said then that the project was a new longitudinal performance monitoring tool \u201cdesigned to act as an additional source of intelligence to guide targeted testing and advanced laboratory analysis, prioritise investigative, or refine its long-term sample storage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two-year feasibility study is being run in collaboration with the University of Kent and University College London. The ITA told road.cc this week that just under 60 riders from five different teams have signed up and have consented to share their historical power data.<\/p>\n

\"20242024 Tour de France peloton (Image Credit: ASO\/Charly Lopez)<\/p>\n

Discussions are ongoing with other teams and, if the trial is successful, women\u2019s teams and non-WorldTour men\u2019s teams could potentially be involved in the future.<\/p>\n

So which teams are involved?<\/p>\n

At this point in time the identity of those squads hasn\u2019t been made official. However, in a recent road.cc podcast interview with Emily Brammeier<\/a>, the president of the anti-doping group Movement for a Credible Cycling (MPCC), she appeared to hint that the Picnic PostNL team she also works with is supportive of the ITA\u2019s project.<\/p>\n

Brammeier has since confirmed it is indeed part of the trial.<\/p>\n

> \u201cCheating will be part of cycling forever\u201d: MPCC president Emily Brammeier on anti-doping, tackling the \u2018grey area\u2019, and making clean sport the norm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a sport, we need to be open to take steps forward in terms of new ways that we can catch the cheaters,\u201d she said in that podcast. \u201cThe MPCC and the ITA have a great relationship and I can only compliment the work that they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are all 100 per cent behind them. There are really good people there who live and breathe this mission of trying to catch the cheaters. But of course they do need more tools, they need more resources, and I think this can be one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

A list of complications<\/p>\n

Brammeier may be in favour, but what are Hansen\u2019s concerns?<\/p>\n

road.cc spoke to the CPA president about his reservations prior to seeking a response to them from the ITA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this is voluntary at the moment, I\u2019m really worried when it becomes mandatory,\u201d Hansen explained.<\/p>\n

\"MatteMatte Jorgenson\u2019s Cervelo, 2025 Tour de France (Image Credit: Liam Cahill)<\/p>\n

\u201cI always ask the question what happens if the rider refuses to upload his training? And they said, \u2018well, they\u2019d have to enforce it.\u2019 And then, for me, it\u2019s like, \u2018okay, what happens then?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first they said it\u2019s just a test. I said, \u2018okay, that\u2019s fine. But what happens when it\u2019s not a test? What happens when a rider does not submit his training data? What happens if his SRM or Garmin is flat? What happens if his power meter does not work? What happens if his bike doesn\u2019t work that day? What happens if he doesn\u2019t ride on his road bike, and he rides on his mountain bike, and this changes his whole training programme? How can you know this?<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know when he\u2019s training at 80 per cent and not 100 per cent? Because if he has a week of training at 80 per cent and then he decides the week after to train at 100 per cent because he\u2019s following the instructions from his coach, how did they know that he was training that week at 80 per cent and that\u2019s not 100 per cent?<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then the week after it [appears to be] 120 per cent, where they are thinking \u2018is it 20 per cent over his limit? How can he do that?\u2019 But it\u2019s because he\u2019s been training easier before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hansen mentioned other complicating scenarios. These include the effects on training data after doing heat acclimatisation sessions in a sauna, during altitude training, and also after gym work. He also voiced concerns about what might happen if riders were, as part of fat-burning sessions, training for several hours without eating breakfast beforehand.<\/p>\n

\"20252025 Garmin Edge 850 (Image Credit: Garmin)<\/p>\n

The unreliability of some power meters was also cited as a possible issue. So too potential variations between the power meters used on training bikes at home versus those on race bikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, if it\u2019s done 100 per cent perfectly, okay, it can work. But it\u2019s not going to be,\u201d he said. \u201cRiders are not going to be able to submit every single training file. If a rider has a flat Garmin during his training ride, does that mean he has to stop? Because if he doesn\u2019t, then he\u2019s not submitting his training, and if he\u2019s not submitting his training, then he\u2019s breaking the rules. And if he\u2019s breaking the rules, he gets punished.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s too much. And in in the discussions of all this, they said \u2018we will deal with that when it comes, but let\u2019s first do a test.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for me, we have to answer these questions first before we make all this investment into the testing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ITA responds to concerns<\/p>\n

Hansen\u2019s questions are all reasonable to ask, particularly in light of what is an unfolding situation. Riders and teams are understandably cautious about new steps such as this, although it is worth remembering that similar apprehensions were voiced prior to the introduction of EPO testing many years ago and, more recently, the biological passport.<\/p>\n

Both of those measures have proven very important in the fight against doping.<\/p>\n

Hansen\u2019s reservations may well be matched by riders and teams in the peloton. In its response to road.cc, the ITA has sought to answer some of the cited concerns.<\/p>\n

It also gave clarification about what the trial does and doesn\u2019t involve.<\/p>\n

\"20212021 Hammerhead Karoo 2 power graph<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is exactly why the feasibility study is being conducted,\u201d it stated, when presented with Hansen\u2019s questions. \u201cIt is important to understand what \u2018normal variation\u2019 in rider training and performance looks like, given the many factors that can\u2019t be controlled. The focus is on changes over time, not the impact of individual training sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key question is: amid all this noise, after initial scrutiny from the Advisory Panel, what level of performance change can be systematically detected, and how did this relate to actual race performances? The focus is on race performance for performance-monitoring purposes. Therefore, most of the issues raised, such as skipping breakfast, gym work, or trying new training methods, are not relevant, as they do not typically affect race conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a rider\u2019s performance changes, whether positively or negatively, we are concerned only with the outcome, the change in performance itself. It does not matter to us how the change came about, because we do not have the data to explain the underlying cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ITA is, it says, trying to establish \u2018typical within- and between-season variation in performance across different intensities and durations for both training and racing.\u2019 It wants to understand what such normal variations look like over shorter and longer periods, including year-on-year progression.<\/p>\n

Are the individual rider\u2019s performances plausible, or are they trending in a suspicious way? Are riders showing an unreasonable jump in level at some point during their careers which simply doesn\u2019t correlate with their early trajectory?<\/p>\n

\"TheThe peloton endures another miserable day at the 2023 Giro d\u2019Italia (Zac Williams\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

As for Rae\u2019s concerns about GDPR, the ITA insists that the project fully complies with the data protection regulations. It said that the data is pseudo-anonymised before sharing with research partners, and that partner universities will only access performance data, not riders\u2019 identities.<\/p>\n

It said that \u201cstringent security measures will protect collected data (encryption, access controls, secure storage, and transmission protocols, etc.) and data is hosted solely on ITA\u2019s tenant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, the project underwent a review by the Ethical Committee of the partner university to ensure alignment with robust ethical standards and validates research governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s important \u2013 and what may alleviate at least some of Hansen\u2019s concerns \u2013 is a statement that the ITA will not sanction a rider based purely on the data itself.<\/p>\n

In that light, it is similar to the modified biological passport. That system originally sanctioned riders for what was deemed unnatural variations in the passport itself. However, following a much-publicised legal case involving the former pro Roman Kreuziger, the ITA now tends to use those unusual passport values only as a basis for targeted testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone is flagged, the expectation is that the ITA would follow up by reviewing additional data (e.g., training calendar, whereabouts) to determine whether there is an obvious explanation, such as an altitude camp or other influencing factors,\u201d the ITA told road.cc.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut ultimately, this is not critical because the data is being used only to inform and refine the testing strategy. i.e. we are not labelling someone as having doped. Flagging a rider does not imply wrongdoing, and there may be entirely legitimate reasons for their performance change. In such cases, even if they are tested, they would not be expected to produce an adverse analytical finding (AAF).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Every team has its secrets about training\u2019<\/p>\n

So, what happens next?<\/p>\n

The trial is underway and, over time, those analysing the data will decide if they can indeed make predictions and form conclusions in relation to the gathered information.<\/p>\n

The ITA stresses that the longitudinal profiles will be built on race performance rather than training data due to reliability.<\/p>\n

Training data will however be of use in reviewing any suspicious profiles that present what it terms unexpected excess performance.<\/p>\n

So, is all this enough to satisfy the concerns of Hansen and others? Time will tell, but the CPA president has accepted that the trial will continue. This is despite the efforts to resist at the UCI\u2019s WorldTour seminar last autumn. Hansen revealed that the CPA expressed its concern there but was outvoted by the other stakeholders, meaning the test will continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI highly believe it won\u2019t be successful,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then it will be scrapped. But we will see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TadejTadej Poga\u010dar and Jonas Vingegaard, Mont Ventoux, stage 16, 2025 Tour de France (Image Credit: SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

Rider agent Carera also hopes the programme will be scrapped. Aside from saying that the sport doesn\u2019t have a doping issue anymore \u2013 something some may consider a big leap of faith \u2013 the Italian is also worried about privacy of data.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard that they want to take all Training Peaks from all riders. But why do we need to do that? In football, Barcelona can\u2019t say to Real Madrid, \u2018today we need to stay three hours on the trainer, tomorrow two hours.\u2019 No.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery team has its secrets about training. Otherwise, why do I need to spend money on the technology and after that other people copy it?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you copy, you arrive always second. But if you copy, it is not good for investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believes teams should be involved in any discussions about this, and be listened to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important that they speak to us. Because otherwise it is casino [a mess].\u201d<\/p>\n

Brammeier doesn\u2019t see it that way. She believes the concerns have been overblown and, if some are indeed valid worries, that they will be ironed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is important to highlight is that nobody will ever have an anti-doping violation because something has gone wrong with their power file. It is used to target the testing. It is a tool to target the tests which are already in place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

This would, she feels, streamline the work the ITA does.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can do a better job when they have something like that. I think there are a lot of issues which do need to be overcome. But certainly my team are always open to this, and the MPCC is always open to this.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in general everybody is, but there are obviously concerns. Quite rightly so, but that doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s a negative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it [the trial] can only be a good thing, in the MPCC\u2019s opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s agent and others have expressed concern about the proposed use of riders\u2019 power and training data…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-456411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}